Let’s be little kids
Walking into an Indian restaurant for an early dinner, my friend casually inspired this poem while talking about his dream of working for Disney.
Growing Young
“The people who suffer,”
he told me,
“Are the ones who stop being little kids.
Now don’t get me wrong,”
he felt compelled to clarify,
“I’m not trynna be a man child,
but why deny
imagination?”
It’s a gift to visualize, to conceptualize, to fantasize,
to romanticize:
Lost is the soul that fails to dream,
and while the weight of the world can make us lose steam,
There’s true joy to be found in the heart that creates
And I said,
“Boy…that resonates”
I wanna be a little kid forever
I love swingsets in the rain
and I wanna cry with abandon
at the first prick of pain
Little kids are unafraid to declare what they want:
they strut around as their true selves whether we like it or not
This doesn’t make them oblivious to the feelings of others;
they’re well aware of their impact on their brothers and their mothers
I remember once…as a little girl
I killed a bug, and it shook my whole world
I got goosebumps and said,
“Mommy, I feel bad”
She said,
“You’re empathetic, honey.
It’s only natural that made you sad.”
Now i kill bugs from time to time
and it doesn’t even faze me
And it’s beginning to amaze me
how deftly we harden as we grow
in ways we don’t consciously know
We spend our youth and adolescence building our defenses
- putting up a wall -
and our entire adulthood
prodding it to fall
But our silly selves we can still find
just inside
So naturally wise, untainted by pride
Inquisitive and resourceful
Navigating life via play
We’d be wise to mirror them:
Gandhi and the Bible do say
To be childlike
But not childish
Be astute with what you wish for
….but you can still make the wish
Let us garner wisdom through playful curiosity
and employ forgiving acceptance
over animosity
Let’s be tender with our touch
and try not to kill the bug
and maybe not hold back
when we’d like to ask our dad for a hug
The ones who stop being kids, after all
are the ones who suffer
So…meet me on the playground?
Before life makes us even tougher
POWER MOVE: Think about the things you loved to do as a child. Choose one, and do it today!
Tip: if you can’t remember, ask a parent, sibling, friend, neighbor, or someone else who might remember how you behaved, particularly between the ages of 7 and 11. I’ve heard that our biggest passions at that age are most aligned with our true calling!